Trustees Absent

Item 1 Call to Order

Chair Taylor called the meeting to order and offered appreciation to everyone for coming. He acknowledged that this would be the last meeting for Trustee Foran and stated that he had been a great Student Government president. All trustees wished Trustee Foran the best in his future endeavors.

Trustee Foran introduced Mr. Justin Damiano as the next Student Government President.

Item 2 Chair’s Report

Chair Taylor reminded the trustees that there would be an Executive Committee meeting April 24. The primary discussion at this meeting would be the UNF Strategic Plan – moving this plan forward and bringing focus and specificity to the Board. These discussions would be presented at the next Board workshop.

Chair Taylor also reminded the trustees of the upcoming Presidential Evaluation Committee meeting scheduled for April 28. He stated that the committee was making good progress.

Item 3 President’s Report

President Delaney offered appreciation to Trustee Foran and stated that it had been great to work with him and Vice President Callahan.

President Delaney spoke about the success of the development event at Trustee Twomey’s, stating that it was great exposure for the University. The event received wonderful responses and Vice President Allaire was working to follow up with possible linkages for UNF.

President Delaney spoke about the Princeton Review declaring UNF as the 5th best academic value. He stated that the publication was a great testament to UNF’s academic product and value. This was a strong recognition of where UNF was and who the University intended to be. He clarified that this recognition reflected student input.

President Delaney presented a legislative update, stating that the legislature was asking the Governor to approve $30 million in PECO funding for UNF. Funding for increased enrollment also looked good. He concluded the update, stating that the governance bill, defining powers between the legislative branches, would not be passed in this session.

Item 4 Public Comment Period

Chair Taylor opened the floor for open comment and introduced Ms. Alisa Craddock. Ms. Craddock stated that she presumed everyone had received a letter in which she spoke about her concerns regarding the latest rule changes. She felt this letter might cause more problems than solutions. The UNF community had always been peaceful and discussions surrounding political issues were welcomed without the threat of repercussion.

Chair Taylor stated that Ms. Craddock’s communication showed a lot of thought on the issues. He thanked her for her comments.

Item 5 Consent Agenda

Chair Taylor stated that he had pulled Consent Agenda Item 5C and would place this item on the main agenda. This agenda item had received considerable input from faculty and the campus community and merited full public discussion and deliberation by the Board.

Chair Taylor asked for a motion to approve the modified consent agenda. Trustee Halverson offered the motion and Trustee Solano seconded. The motion was carried unanimously.

Pulled from Consent -- Item 5C Newly Proposed Regulations

Vice President Stone stated that the Educational Policy Committee did approve the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Regulation and the Sexual Harassment Regulation, after considering comments from the University community and implementing suggested revisions.

Mr. Marc Snow, Associate General Counsel, stated that these two regulations were updated reflecting recent changes in the anti-discrimination laws and sexual harassment policies. In addition one category was added to the antidiscrimination policy which had not been included in UNF’s previous policies — sexual orientation.

Vice President Serwatka stated that it was the responsibility of the Board to approve all regulations. Since open comments were received regarding these regulations, the Board may solicit additional written comments, schedule a public hearing, withdraw or modify the regulation, amendment, or repeal in whole or in part after notice, or proceed with adopting the regulation.

Chair Taylor asked for comments from trustees. Trustee Solano voiced concerns regarding the extent to which the campus community was aware of these changes. She asked for clarification on the approval process for regulations. Vice President Serwatka stated that there were several layers of review. The review process began with the Associates Plus group. After approval from this group, a referral was made to relevant constituent groups – the Faculty Association, Administrative and Professional employees, University Support Personnel Service employees and Student Government. These groups were asked to solicit input from their constituents. After a designated amount of time, comments were considered and referred to the Executive Staff. After consideration from the Executive Staff, a recommendation was made to forward the regulation to the appropriate Board committee, and then to the full Board. All regulations were publicly noticed for 30 days, prior to Board approval.

Trustee Solano asked that the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Regulation and the Sexual Harassment Regulation be pulled back and circulated to all constituent groups again. It was her opinion that the campus community did not have enough time to adequately review these regulations. She also recommended a public hearing.

President Delaney asked Vice President Stone if there would be possible ramification for the recirculation of these regulations. Vice President Stone stated that the repeal of the old regulations should be delayed, pending the new regulations being in place.

Chair Taylor asked administration to review the process for regulation approval. He encouraged a longer amount of time allotted for the constituent review process. Vice President Serwatka stated that he would make sure this suggestion was implemented.

Trustee Halverson stated that the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Regulation and the Sexual Harassment Regulation included important issues that merited consideration. He requested that the faculty look at these regulations again, especially as they related to academic freedom. He felt there should be a path toward balancing, as well as grounds for reconciling conflicting agendas. He stated that these two regulations should be at the same level of authority as protection of religious freedom. He requested that these two regulations be tweaked to find a balance between protection of individuals and individual free speech rights.

Chair Taylor requested consensus from the Board that the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Regulation and the Sexual Harassment Regulation be brought back after further deliberation.

Trustee Solano asked the Board to recognize that summer was approaching and many faculty members would be off campus until after Fall term began. President Delaney and Vice President Stone agreed to take that into consideration.

Trustee Gonzalez asked that administration create a training venue to ensure these regulations were implemented properly. Vice President Serwatka stated that this was incorporated in the recently approved Personnel Program.

Chair Taylor asked for a motion to remove from the Consent Agenda, Items 5DI and 5DII – Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Regulation; and Sexual Harassment Regulation. Trustee Thompson offered the motion and Trustee Gonzalez seconded. The motion was carried.

Item 6 Reports from the Educational Policy Committee

Item 6A Amorous or Sexual Relationship Policy

Vice President Serwatka stated that this policy was brought to the Board because it was connected to the Sexual Harassment Regulation. He stated that this item was provided for information – policies did not require action from the Board.

Trustee Thompson asked if this policy had been approved by the University. Vice President Serwatka stated that the policy was vetted through the established process. Trustee Solano stated that this policy did receive approval from the Faculty Association.

Trustee Halverson stated that any time there were policies that dealt in the broad areas of conflict of interest, it would make sense for those to apply to trustees as well. Chair Taylor asked administration to look into this and bring it back to the Board. Vice President Stone agreed to do this.

Item 6B Cost of UNF’s Role in Realizing Blue Print for Prosperity Projections

Vice President Serwatka stated that this item was brought to the Board for review only. One of the goals of the Blueprint for Prosperity report states that by the year 2017, 35 percent of Duval County’s population 25 years or older will have bachelor’s degrees and an additional 10 percent will have associate degrees – similar to other aspirant cities.

Vice President Serwatka referred trustees to the meeting materials, stating that rough calculations regarding UNF’s possible role in achieving this goal would be very expensive and require the University to grow at a much more rapid pace than anticipated.

President Delaney stated that the plan could compromise the institution’s focus on quality. He stated that the report was not complete and the University would keep watching the plan.

Chair Taylor stated that the Blue Print plan should be considered as UNF’s strategic plan was developed and should be balanced with other goals and objectives for the University.

Item 7 Action Items from the Finance and Audit Committee

Item 7A Campus Development Agreement

Trustee Kendrick stated that the Finance and Audit Committee did not have a quorum at their previous meeting. She asked Vice President Shuman to discuss this item.

Vice President Shuman stated that this agreement was just reaching the City of Jacksonville’s general counsel and was not ready for discussion at this meeting. She stated that this agreement would need to be resolved in the near future.

Item 7B Signature Authority for Banking Transactions

Vice President Shuman stated that Florida Statutes required the Board to identify those who could sign on behalf of the University. She stated that the meeting materials included a list with new authorizations.

This list had been narrowed to obtain better control.

Chair Taylor asked for a motion to approve the signature authority for banking transactions. Trustee Foran offered the motion and Trustee Solano seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

Item 8 Reports from the Finance and Audit Committee

Item 8A UNF’s Financial Statement Audit Report

Vice President Shuman said that the statements included in the meeting materials were finalized. She referred to the finding regarding banking reconciliations, stating that there were improvements made in this process and that there was progress in resolution.

This item was provided for information and required no further action from the Board.

Item 8B Preliminary Federal Awards Audit

Vice President Shuman stated that this was a federal audit for the entire State and listed only three findings for UNF. The Finance and Audit Committee reviewed these findings and the University provided responses for each one – some of the issues were resolved.

This item was provided for information and required no further action from the Board.

Item 8C 2005 Operational Audit Status Update

Vice President Shuman stated that the Finance and Audit Committee reviewed the seven findings in this report. She stated that the University would continue to update the Board on these findings.

This item was provided for information and required no further action from the Board.

Item 8D Quarterly Budget Report

Vice President Shuman stated that there were no concerns regarding the budget at this time.

This item was provided for information and required no further action from the Board.

Item 8E Treasurer’s Report

Vice President Shuman stated that this was a standard report provided to the Board regarding investments.

Trustee Gonzalez asked for further information on the Fine Arts Center. President Delaney stated that the Fine Arts Center did overspend last year. Revenues came in below expectations and the University budgeted more reasonably for this year. Trustee Halverson agreed with subsidizing of the Fine Arts Center, stating that it was indeed a part of campus life.

Item 9 Adjournment

Chair Taylor reminded the trustees of the upcoming Executive Committee meeting, stating that he would be delighted to have any trustees come. He adjourned the meeting.